We have all thought about this poem quite a bit, after having one of our first impromptu essays on it. However, now that I read it from the "Stanza" section of our poem book, I paid more attention to the nature of the stanza. The first two lines of the stanza are short while the last line is long. The first two lines converge into the third. The beats of the first two lines of the stanza added together equal the beats of the last line of the stanza. Unfortunately I didn't recognized this while writing my essay, but I really do think it adds a lot to the poem. I feel a certain intensity when I read "The Convergence of the Twain," especially when keeping in build the individual compounding stanzas. The poem builds as you read, becoming bigger and bigger, and boom. The convergence takes place. Did anyone else get something more out the poem when we returned to it for a second time? - KGa-c Mar 13, 2008
I too read a lot more into this poem returning to it now. I think that was mainly because I was no longer trying to decipher what the poem was about and was free to explore other aspects of it, including its stanza structure. If I had noticed how the stanza structure alone is a representation of the convergence, I certainly would have included it in my essay last time. I guess that shows you how much we overlook those details when writing these essays, just trying to decipher what to write about the content rather than the physical representation of the poem. Here the title of the poem takes on further meeting. The third line of each stanza is a convergence (mostly) of the two that came before it (a convergence of the twain). It is only on this closer inspection that I realize how much energy and artistic ability goes into each poem a poet writes, even down to considering how the poem will look on the page. - AHa-c Mar 13, 2008 I am not sure that I ever would have recognized the first two lines of each stanza converging into the third line, but I do think it is very important to the poem. It made me realize that the way a poem looks on paper does matter. Not all poems may have distinct a distinct shape like " Easter Wings", but they subtle appearance can still play a role in the poem's meaning. Reading this poem also taught me that the appearance of a poem is something that I can look at when analyzing a poem. The length and pattern of lines and stanzas can play an important role in a poem. Poetry is more than just language it is also a visual art. "The Convergence of the Twain" shows that an important purpose of the stanza is the role that it plays in the appearance of a poem, which really is an important characteristic. - bga-c Mar 13, 2008
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I too read a lot more into this poem returning to it now. I think that was mainly because I was no longer trying to decipher what the poem was about and was free to explore other aspects of it, including its stanza structure. If I had noticed how the stanza structure alone is a representation of the convergence, I certainly would have included it in my essay last time. I guess that shows you how much we overlook those details when writing these essays, just trying to decipher what to write about the content rather than the physical representation of the poem. Here the title of the poem takes on further meeting. The third line of each stanza is a convergence (mostly) of the two that came before it (a convergence of the twain). It is only on this closer inspection that I realize how much energy and artistic ability goes into each poem a poet writes, even down to considering how the poem will look on the page. -
I am not sure that I ever would have recognized the first two lines of each stanza converging into the third line, but I do think it is very important to the poem. It made me realize that the way a poem looks on paper does matter. Not all poems may have distinct a distinct shape like " Easter Wings", but they subtle appearance can still play a role in the poem's meaning. Reading this poem also taught me that the appearance of a poem is something that I can look at when analyzing a poem. The length and pattern of lines and stanzas can play an important role in a poem. Poetry is more than just language it is also a visual art. "The Convergence of the Twain" shows that an important purpose of the stanza is the role that it plays in the appearance of a poem, which really is an important characteristic. -